If there’s a more impressive way to commence a celebration, we’ve yet to find it. Sabering a bottle of champagne instantly turns any gathering into a fête, initiating a cause for serious revelry and merrymaking.

Would it sound entirely ridiculous to say the Santorini Cherry Tomato changed my life? My first encounter with the locally-grown treasure was at Aktaion Restaurant, an unassuming traditional taverna that turned out to to be one of the oldest on the island, built over nearly a century ago. It was there that my wife and I first tasted a traditional korkosela made with eggs, fresh tomato and green bell pepper. It was unlike any dish I have ever had. As a backyard-tomato-farmer, the delicacy sent me into a frenzy to research the mystical Santorini Tomato.

3,600 years ago, there was a massive volcanic eruption that devastated Santorini. Many believe the event inspired the mystical legend of Atlantis mentioned in Plato’s dialogues. I’m somewhat of a hopeless romantic for ancient myths like these, and as my husband and I would walk amid Santorini’s white buildings boasting royal blue roofs and views of the endless, glimmering ocean, I couldn’t help but wonder if the story of the lost city of Atlantis was true. The island gifted us a newfound adventurous spirit, and we set out to explore the mysterious, abandoned shipwrecks and hidden, deep-sea treasures of the Aegean Sea.

While my usual happy hour always starts with a “cheers” and clinked cocktails, our evenings at Grace Hotel included multiple toasts— and not just because it was my birthday week. Every night, I could count on an inevitable second round of glasses to be raised when Santorini’s famed sunset colors called for their own salute. In perfect view from our dining table we would watch as a soft, orange glow met the rich blues of the Aegean Sea and washed the endless horizon in striking color. I remember looking at one another, speechlessly gesturing to the grandeur in awe, thinking that nothing could compete with this view. I was wrong.

At the annual Blues & Brews Festival, September sunlight saturates mountains cloaked in green and gold trees—setting a colorful stage for three days of funk, rock, soul, and blues. “This event is overshadowed by all the other Telluride festivals,” says General Manager Alex Rollinson. “But it’s my favorite—and one of the few family-friendly options where kids 11 and under are free.

If you’re planning on hiking Oat Hill Mine Trail, don’t let the weather deter you— foggy mornings are the best time for this hike. After stumbling upon this discovery by chance, the colder and mistier the morning in Napa Valley, the faster I grab my hiking shoes.

Named after the periodic table’s element 52, which is found in gold, our resort pays homage to Telluride’s rich past as a mining town—and on your visit, so should you! “Riding in a 4x4 is the best way to traverse bumpy switchbacks up to Bridal Veil Falls, where you start an eight-mile-roundtrip hike to Lewis Mine,”...

I've been traveling to Costa Rica for almost 30 years, and I've been to plenty of the country's resorts. In all that time, I've never seen a place where both kids and adults can have equally incredible experiences than at Hacienda Alta Gracia. For kids, the stables are the best in Central America. Well-trained and easy for kids to ride and enjoy, my granddaughters fed and brushed the horses following their ride. Plus, a huge bonus - there are almost always baby horses on the property, which are always a hit! Back at the resort, the kids played at Kata Grande, conveniently located near a bar where parents can enjoy!

Next time you’re ordering your favorite cocktail at the J-Bar, ask about “the drawer.” And, after that, ask if your bartender has signed it yet. Famously known for its hundreds of intricately carved signatures, the drawer holds the names of every bartender who has worked in the J-Bar since its opening day in 1889. If you happen to be at the J-Bar at the right time, you might even catch a touring group from the Aspen Historical Society showing it off. Now shellacked to seal it’s inked history, the drawer is an Aspen landmark worth toasting to.

There is a cliff at Esperanza where I go to retrieve live sea urchins that cling to the sides of the warm granite, as they sunbathe and seek refuge from the constant crashing of the Sea of Cortez. The cliff is one of my favorite spots at the resort and I climb up there to carefully collect the urchins and bring them to my kitchen to prepare and serve them.

This past July I met up with the owner of Tiki Cabo Organic Farm at the annual pitaya (aka dragonfruit) competition in his hometown of Miraflores. Locals will tell you that this is where you can find the best organic produce.

“Just breathe,” he told himself as he navigated Telluride’s thrilling trek. Studded with steel rungs and strung with ropes, Via Ferrata—one of the few of its kind in the U.S.—soars 2,000 feet high and offers aerial views of a tree-littered valley and the town. The adrenaline-pumping, two-mile expedition includes navigating a rock wall, walking along a sheer cliff trail only a foot wide...

I don't just plan trips, I change lives. When a couple comes to me in need of a romantic getaway, it's especially exciting to plan a travel experience that is not only out-of-the-box and inspiring but that also stops time. An insider tip I love to give my clients is the special opportunity to make their own scrubs at Hacienda AltaGracia's spa. The team of massage therapists assist you in mixing your bathtub blend with lush tropical oils, bottling the scent of Costa Rica for you to take home.

Ok, I actually have a Grad Degree in Labor Relations, but now starting on my 9th winter in Aspen with over 100 days of skiing every year, I feel like I now have a PHD in downhill. That’s a Dream Degree. Nothing is better than waking up in the early morning and hitting the fresh powder.

The J-Bar has seen it all— silver booms and busts, the Depression, wars, the who’s who of screen stars clinking glasses, and artists of the counter-culture movement lying low. Temporarily turning into a soda fountain during the 1920's, the J-Bar even weathered Prohibition. It was then that miners were known to have tossed back the iconic J-Bar concoction that still remains on the menu: The Aspen Crud. Made of bourbon and vanilla ice cream, the whiskey-spiked milkshake was dreamt up to evade the era’s laws. Today, J-Bar bartenders don’t need to hide their spirits behind walls anymore, but the famed drink still tastes like a secret.

We only put 130 miles on our rented car— 65 miles to the Madeline, and 65 back to the airport. The car lived in the lap of luxury in the parking garage our entire stay, largely thanks to Telluride’s free gondola.

There’s one thing you need to know about Aspen; you’ll come for the winter, and stay for the summer. Ski season might be total heaven, but the world-renowned events going on during the warmer months make it tough to say goodbye come September.

A little minerality from the land and the salty, sweet flavor of the Sea of Cortez along with what is in season, organic and sustainable are my favorite ingredients. I like to think that all our raw ingredients have a story.

“Am I really here? Can you pinch me?” said my husband almost every morning during our coffee-sourcing trip to Hacienda AltaGracia. We came to select the perfect beans for our shop in Vancouver, as Costa Rica is considered one of the best coffee growing regions in the world - it's the only country where it's illegal to produce any type of coffee other than 100 percent Arabica beans. Though we tried the renowned Tarrazú Geisha coffee before - the most expensive coffee ever sold by Starbucks - we came for the bird-friendly beans found in the Perez Zeledon mountains, an area where mountainous terrain and warm temperatures collide to form the ideal conditions for Arabica beans to flourish.